The Infamous King Of The Comstock: William Sharon And The Gilded Age In The West

Chapter Fourteen: Pressing On

 Chapter Fourteen PRESSING ON O J , during the trial’s continuation, the Republican Party met in Chicago to nominate its presidential candidate. Sharon traveled there, arriving on the morning of Saturday the th. On June  the Chicago Herald reported on a party the ex-senator hosted at the Palmer House.Sharon sat swinging his legs on the side of a bed, dressed in shirtsleeves, smoking a cigar. In attendance were several friends, including J. P. Jones. Sharon believed Jones had stolen the Crown Point mine from him, and during their bitter battle for the Senate Sharon brought forward accusations that Jones had started the Yellow Jacket fire. Sharon had also caused a market crash in an attempt to break Jones.For a short time Jones had supported Sutro’s tunnel against Sharon’s wishes, and he later threatened to build a railroad to rival the Virginia & Truckee. But eventually, Jones withdrew support from those projects and assisted Sharon in his successful bid for the Senate . They served together for four years, maintaining a collegial relationship the rest of their lives.1 At the Palmer, the men drank from a decanter on an ebony end table and joked. Sharon quoted poets, talking of his “bad scrape” and saying how thankful he was to be getting out of it.He wondered what any of them would have done under similar circumstances. “It was pretty tough to go on the stand and admit that I had been such a fool,”he said, “but what are you going to do—be blackmailed? Not much.” One of his friends asked how he could get into such a predicament. Sharon reached for the ebony stand. “What is it the poet Thompson says?    ‘He saw her charming, but he saw not half The charms her downcast modesty concealed.’ “Who could resist it? I read the ‘Maid of Athens’ to her. She melted; then ‘the kiss snatched hasty from the sidelong maid,’ did the business. Whatever might have been lacking,  a month supplied.” Somebody suggested that perhaps a couple of thousand dollars would fix the thing up. Sharon assured the men they did not know the crowd he was up against. “I treated her honorably, as the world would call it. I gave her a splendid income. But she wanted more.” Knowing that she wanted him to marry her,he offered her ,.“That was right,wasn’t it Jones?” Jones agreed. “I could have settled it at any time for ,—, to her and , to Neilson. But not one cent! Millions for defense—not a cent for tribute.” He went on to say he believed he had paid perhaps , to date. “But I will not be blackmailed out of a cent. . . . I mean now not only to beat her blackmail suit, but I will land her in the penitentiary.”A few moments later,he softened the sentiment: “I don’t care to crush the woman any more than necessary, but if it were necessary we would show her to have been an adventuress from her twentieth year.”2 Sharon’s monologue was revealing. He illustrated his remarks with scraps of verse, demonstrating uncommon erudition. The dialogue also reveals a sense of humor.(“Whatever might have been lacking [in his lovemaking ], a month supplied.”) His resolve in choosing to look the fool rather than succumb to paying tribute illustrates that his pugnacious nature superseded any regard for community standing. His contention that he treated her “honorably” apparently refers to the “splendid income” he bestowed. Owing to the mores of the group and the era, the sophism—if enough money is involved, an illicit relationship might be worthy of esteem —went unchallenged. Back on the West Coast on June ,the California Democrats convened what proved to be a controversial state convention in Stockton. Sharon’s friend, Justice Stephen Field, was seeking the Democratic nomination for president.In a state divided over its railroad plutocracy,Field’s court deci-     sions made him the acknowledged leader of the pro-railroad forces.David Terry, Hill’s champion, was one of the leaders of the anti-railroad group. Asked to endorse Field, who believed that Terry could win over the convention ,Terry replied,“If I could I would not,as his judicial record would absolutely prevent my giving him my support; . . . no place in the records of his decisions could it be found that he had ever given a judgment for a poor...